The mission of the Massachusetts Policy and Organizing Leadership Academy (The Academy) is to help leaders and organizations effectively and confidently participate in public life and influence the advancement of social, economic and racial justice.

Like many women in this business, I started as a volunteer. I belonged to an adoptive parent group. We had decided to “do something” about an existing law that forbade the adoption of children across religious lines. Through our parent support network we had learned that more than a thousand...

More important than ever – positive policy change on the state level. Here’s what professional and volunteer lobbyists and organizers are saying about the newly-released 2018 edition of Lobbying on a Shoestring, by Judith C. Meredith and Margaret E. Monsell: Making effective and lasting change is harder than ever but...

Lobbying on a Shoestring offers a common-sense, practical approach to political action. Premised on the idea that real people should have a real impact on the development of public policy, this powerhouse of a paperback conveys truths about the legislative process and hard-won, strategic insights. The 2018 Revised Edition gets you...

THE CHILDREN AND I NEED SHELTER – LAST NIGHT WE SLEPT IN A CAR ( Massachusetts found poem)* Where were you sleeping before you slept in the car? How many nights have you spent in the car? Were your children with you? Do you own the car? Do you have the...

I bet you can think of 10 MORE reasons why your organization might not want to spend the time and energy to reorganize you existing resources in order plan and implement a campaign to promote positive policy change in your town, in your county or in your state. I can...

Parents on the March: Organizing for Quality Education in Boston Public Schools, June 2012 Gail Snowden, from Freedom House, hosted the recent session on organizing for quality education in Boston and introduces two of Boston’s greatest education advocates and organizers Rep. Byron Rushing and Sarah-Ann Shaw. ...

What kind of story do you tell? So far, the most “fun” on-site coaching event is a very lively, interactive message development session which helps volunteer activists and professional advocates learn how to turn a Chicken Little story that people ignore, into a Little Train that Could story, that makes people want to...

Answer: One person or organization, willing to be a part of a greater network, fueled by a common vision for the right solution. Individuals, organizations, communities learning from each other, drawing from a comprehensive library of public policy resources and organizing tools. Leadership Academy Training Programs: Be part of the Academy’s...

There’s no secret for how to win the policy change you’re looking for, just a series of planning and organizing activities that add up to a campaign. Start by learning how the policy-making process works: the Real Clout textbook was written to serve as a how-to manual for community activists who,...

NEW LAW WILL BOLSTER CIVICS EDUCATION IN SCHOOLS Rep. Andy Vargas, a Haverhill Democrat who joined the House after winning a special election last year, visited the State House for the first time eight years ago as a high school student to lobby for a version of the bill. He gave his first speech as...

So, public policy advocates, what are you doing tomorrow? Planning to promote positive policy change in your state? You will find keys to building a winning public policy campaign in this little book Lobbying on a Shoestring Check out the introduction outlining the three rules of Lobbying and the Hero Opportunity

More important than ever – positive policy change on the state level. Here’s what professional and volunteer lobbyists and organizers are saying about the newly-released 2018 edition of Lobbying on a Shoestring, by Judith C. Meredith and Margaret E. Monsell:

Do you have an answer to this basic question? What is pubic policy Anyway? At Real Clout we say that policy are rules made by people in authority to control others in their family, workplace, government. Ask a room of youngsters to tell you what family policies that hate most and they will come up with...

We are looking for new and experienced lobbyist familiar with Lobbying on a Shoestring willing to share a lobbying story as a reviewer of the 4th Edition. Maybe we have been working side by side for years practicing a much misunderstood and maligned profession called “lobbying.” Maybe we worked together developing a strategic plan for...

Closing days of a session are always a test of Leadership… from Chapter 2 of the draft 4th Edition of Lobbying on a Shoestring “Leadership, like other legislators, must be reelected. Because it is particularly embarrassing for a party leader to lose a local election, leaders listen to their constituents very closely and use the...

Lew Finfer from MCAN-PICO Co Chaired the successful Raise up Massachusetts effort to get over a quarter of a million signatures to improve the lives of a million or so workers. In this picture, Lew is wearing a pin from Martin Luther King’s last campaign. Lew is an organizer without peer in Massachusetts. Here is an...

from Ali Noorani’s Huffington’s Post in part…. Less than a week to go till the March FOR America and the immigration blame game is kicking into full gear. Democrats are blaming Republicans, Republicans are blaming Democrats. Meanwhile, the DC punditry – aided and abetted by a front pageWashington Post story that doesn’t have a source to cite – is tripping...

Joan Vennochi does it again. A sharp spin on a current hot debate — in this case revenues Here in part TAX BREAKS for Ben Affleck. Tax hikes for everyone else. As he calls for $1.9 billion in new taxes, that proposal didn’t add up for Governor Deval Patrick. So, he’s also proposing to cap the film tax...

Of course the campaign to bring much needed services to autistic adults and others is not just one man’s mission. In fact the effort is being led by The Asperger’s Association of New England (AANE) and they have taken the lead in drafting and promoting two bills to implement the highest priority recommendations of the...